Rancho Locoallomi facts for kids

Rancho Locoallomi was a very large piece of land, about 8,873-acre (35.91 km²), located in what is now Napa County, California. This land was given as a Mexican land grant in 1841. The rancho covered the area known today as Pope Valley, surrounded by the Mayacamas Mountains. The name "Locoallomi" comes from the Miwok language, and it means "place of the cottonwood trees."

History of Rancho Locoallomi

William Pope was born in Kentucky in 1805. He became a trapper and lived in New Mexico for a while. In 1827, Pope traveled to California, but he later returned to New Mexico.

In 1835, William Pope and his wife, Maria Juliana Salazar, moved to Los Angeles. They joined a group traveling overland.

William Pope Claims Land

In 1841, William Pope went on a trip to the Napa Valley with some friends: Cyrus Alexander, William Knight, and William Gordon. They stayed at George C. Yount’s home. After their stay, the four friends decided to claim different valleys for themselves.

William Pope asked General Vallejo and the acting governor of California, Manuel Jimeno, for a large piece of land. He wanted about two square leagues (a way of measuring land back then) on the east side of Howell Mountain.

Juliana Pope and their four children moved from Los Angeles. They stayed at Yount’s ranch while William built their first home on his new property. In 1843, the Pope family moved their wagons and animals to their new adobe house. Sadly, William Pope died in an accident that same year.

Land Becomes Part of the United States

After the Mexican-American War, California became part of the United States. This change was agreed upon in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This treaty promised that the existing land grants, like Rancho Locoallomi, would still be honored.

In 1852, a claim for Rancho Locoallomi was officially filed with the Public Land Commission. This was required by a law called the Land Act of 1851. In 1862, the land was officially given to William Pope's children: Jose, María, Luciana, Isabella, and Delavina Pope.

Juliana Pope later married a neighbor named Elias Barnett. He was a pioneer from Missouri who had come to California in 1841. He had also stayed with George C. Yount before settling in Pope Valley and marrying Juliana.

Historic Places of the Rancho

• Aetna Springs Resort — This place was a resort with mineral springs. It first opened in the late 1800s.